Removing the Roller Coaster
September 1, 2006 Grade Reduction
I always hated the "Roller Coaster", a short section of track on the northern part of the main loop that followed the curvature of the land instead of maintaining a constant grade over it. -  Image 1: Early photo of the Roller Coaster
I knew I was in trouble when I had difficulty making the vertical bend
over the section with the rail, I don't even have a good photo of the
old grade because it was not very photogenic, so I never took any
pictures of it. The worst part was that it
was the steepest grade on the line, albeit, the shortest.
So I took up the track and regraded the right-of-way, using a string as
a guide. The grade is now twice as long, but half as steep, making it
now the second steepest on the line. It doesn't look like it, but I had
to remove about 2500 pounds of earth to make the track straight.
Now here's the new grade. I still have to level and straighten it. I had
visitors coming over and put the rail down rather quickly. But now the grade
is consistant from the Silver Creek bridge to the Yard level.
Now that's what I call "Trackwork"! I didn't make it. My guests arrived before I could get the last rail spiked down. I estimated the grade reduction would shorten the line by about 1/4 inch. They got here as I was sawing off the last rail. So I got some help spiking down the last piece. |
